5 Concealable .380 Pistols $200 or less

What I’m talking about today aren’t the best or the fanciest handguns, they are cheap. And what can be done with cheap guns? Just about anything. Carry, plink, practice, throw, paperweight—the uses are endless! Seriously though, cheap guns are ideal for learning and teaching. You can take them apart, fiddle with insides, and see how it works. And .380 is a decent round especially with small guns. Recoil isn’t too painful and it’s manageable. For general shooting it’s an overall fun round. Here are five .380 concealed carry size guns that are cheap and available.

Hellcat .380

Hellcat 380 made by IO, Inc., a North Carolina company, has been on the market for a few years now. For the quality of craftsmanship, the price of the Hellcat .380 is very decent. Its slide is milled from solid steel and the frame is machined from aircraft aluminum. It has a snag free design and weighs less than 10 ounces.

The only complaints about the Hellcat are that it only likes premium ammo, meaning it may jam when shooting the cheap stuff. Also, there have been some complaints about how similar it looks to something like the Kel Tec P-3AT. However, not to rag on Kel Tec, it is made from better materials than the Kel Tec.

Otherwise the Hellcat looks and feels good. It’s easy to hold as is any pocket pistol, trigger is smooth and it’s been said to print tight groups from 10 yards.

The Hellcat 380 is offered with either a matte black or stainless steel slide, and a black, od green or tan frame. Asking price is $225, but realistically you’re looking at $180 to $210.

Kel Tec P-3AT

Speaking of the P3AT… it’s no secret that the Kel Tec P3AT is a good inexpensive gun. It’s proven to be reliable, durable and comfortable—well, as comfortable as can be. Kel Tec touts that it’s the lightest .380 pistol available.

Kel Tec guns are sold at inexpensive rates because they use cheaper materials—meaning numerous components and two-piece plastic frames—but they make it up with innovative engineering. The Kel Tec P3AT has a reputation for reliability.

It has a lightweight polymer frame—it weighs around eight ounces—that comes in black, tan or od green. The grip is rather short, meaning capable of a two-finger hold, but it still fits pretty well in the hands. It has a height of 3.5 inches and overall length of 5.2 inches. And you can feed it any type of ammo.

A common criticism is the stiff double-action only trigger. It has around a five-pound pull. But where the P3AT loses points, it gains them right back with price. As low as $210.

Cobra .380

The Cobra 380 is the epitome of cheap: unnecessarily heavy for its size, complex design, archaic controls and it comes in six gaudy colors. I never said anything about these being the best pistols, I said cheap and available.

It has a rather robust slide so its balance is out of whack. The magazine release is inconveniently placed at the heel of the grip handle instead of on the side, and the take down pin is behind the rear sight.

The Cobra 380 has a 2.8-inch barrel, an overall length of 5.4 inches and weighs 22 ounces. It features fixed sights, a single-action only trigger and holds five rounds.

Shooting the Cobra 380 isn’t bad. It is similar to that of a Hi Point, meaning it’ll work, but it’s not something you’d pass on to your kids. Besides shooting it, it’ll be interesting to take a part and see how it works. And because of all the extra weight, recoil is mild.

No one is every going to say the Cobra 380 is of a high-end lot. It is what it is: $130.

Taurus 738 TCP

The Taurus 738 TCP is another ugly pistol, but functional. The TCP, which stands for Taurus Compact Pistol, is very lightweight and has a snag-free design. It has fixed sights, but they’re rather nubby. What makes the TCP stand out over other pockets is that the slide locks back on the last round.

Like the Kel Tec, the TCP has a polymer frame with checkered grips and the frame is available in a variety of colors like pink, black, tan, brown… making it a pretty popular giveaway or promotional gun.

It has a height of 3.3 inches, overall length of 5.25 inches and weighs just over 10 ounces.

This little .380 is another one that can be found well under $200, but the average sale price is around $210.

Accu Tek AT-380

The Accu Tek AT-380 isn’t the best pistol. In fact it won’t even come close to second. But it’s cheap and that’s what we’re talking about today.

Though many have reported that components on the AT-380 tend to wear hard over time, there are just as many folks who will vouch for them and their reliability.

Both the frame and slide are of stainless steel construction putting its weight at about 24 ounces. It is hammer fired with a single-action trigger. It’s 6.2 inches in length and 4.2 inches in height. Like the Cobra, it has a European-style magazine release, meaning on the heel of the grip.

The Accu Tek TA-380 is another that would be interesting to take apart and waste ammo with. Cheaper guns tend to have a more complicated design. Yours easily for $200.

That’s my list and I hope you enjoyed it. There are just as many people who rag on cheap guns who love cheap guns (and those that rag secretly love them).

Post your Comments

being an FFl , who doesn't do much bussiness any more, I have and can obtain a fair inventory to have choice of. my best choice for small auto carry is the hungarian R-61 in (9x18)are scarce , but try one if can find one , sometimes one appears on Gun Broker.they are scaled down PA 63 of which there are many.and the longer PA 63 mags will work if desired, try it on a few tin cans on ground ,, just point and shoot! fast as you can , see how mmany you hit and come close to. its a blast. a slightly larger with same characteristics is the starPD 45 acp ,(again if you can find one).my usual choice is the Kel tec p-11 full 9mm 11 shot dao 14 oz empty. very compact and reliable.and my most recent love afair is the taurus 327 federal 3 inch. bbl revolver, 6 shot cyl. small light and what a cartridge! wow. milder noise and recoil and 357 mag power.have many others but theses are my no. ones right now.

Randy Bruns : I collect Colts , Rugers and Smith and Wessons , with that being said , I consider my my Kel Tec P3AT be as fine of a carry gun as any that I have , including my Ruger LC9 or my Sig P230 . While It is true that most of the time I carry my LC9 , I never feel that I am under gunned while packing my P3AT , it is a fine little gun that can go with anything that you wear ... the same can not be said of my LC9 .

Rick Marchant My buddy wants a Kel Tec ksg. Heard anything about em? Other than harder than shit to find... N Yea Mossberg has really stepped up its game inmy book. The new 591A is what the military is using in Iraq, and they look extremely bad ass

I thought I was paying the extra dollar for my Taurus... and I love the slide catch... over 400 rounds, and very little wear, also no malfunctions since the first box. My XD9 is more fun to shoot, so it gets more rounds, but if I don't want it seen, I carry the Taurus TCP738 with no fear of it not working all 7 rounds.

I collect guns , hand guns in particular ; and I place my Kel Tec on par with my S&Ws . I end up carrying my P3AT or my Ruger LC9 on a regular basis . If i want a revolver, I go with either a Smith or a Colt , but it is hard to beat the little Kel Tec for an semi auto.

These would work in a pinch, I guess.Would be good enough to stash in the the garage, or in your vehicle, for EXTREME emergencies, or if you've forgot your primary.Thanks for taking the time to write the article, because nowadays, not everyone has 4-5 hundred to spend on a decent pistol.I already have mine and bought them BEFORE we ended up in this National, financial mess.

Huge fan of the Makarov, they are tough as a hammer. 9mm Mak ammo does an excellent job of transfering energy too. Between .380 and 9 parabellum for power. Doesn't produce enough velocity to expand every time. So the clever Ruskies gave it a nearly spherical front, instead of a point like a 9mm. Beauty is it doesnt have to expand now. like shooting a ball bearing. Is truly a superior design for a pocket piece..
If you just have to have a .380. FEG surplus hungarian, cheap reliable accurate. and you wont have a stroke if it falls out of your ankle holster and goes skittering down the driveway!

I use and sell the Taurus line and at this time have absolutely no problems with any of my own or the ones I have sold. These are moderate to cheap firearms but when I cover them with a full lifetime replacement warrantee you would think some would come back occasionally. Not a one has come back or failed. Love the TCP in Black Stainless!

Stay away from the I.O. Hellcat.380! Early serial numbered guns won't work with later manufactured magazines. My old Hellcat jammed with Winchester 95gr FMJ, Remington 95gr UMC, Remington Ultimate Home Defense 102gr BJHP, Independence 90gr FMJ, and Blazer Brass 95gr FMJ. I never found any ammo that it liked. MSRP was $220 when I bought it. I sold that piece of junk for $50 and bought a Ruger LCP.380. I LOVE MY RUGER!

Good alternatives for those on a very limited budget, very informative as usual..........At least it it shows what you can buy until you can do better, but they also make good hide away guns.......just in case......

Mike Howell I can appreciate your feelings on that, Mike. I really liked Colts 1911A1 till they sabotaged themselves beginning with the Mark 4 Series 70. One good thing to come of Colt's stupid downgrades is the wide range of 1911 series pistols available today from most firearm manufacturers. Most better manufacturers, that is.

I would save up a little more and go for a Ruger LCP 380 you can get them on sale for around $300 and they come with 2 Mags. The Ruger LCP 380ACP is a great gun and for just a bit more you can have a reliable gun that you can pass down to the kids and will fire any kind of ammo, so if you think about it and buy a cheaper 380 for $200 to $250 and they will only shoot with premium ammo you can rack up a lot more money spent over years of shooting buying all premium ammo vs cheap target rounds. So in the long run in my opion even if you were looking for a 380ACP in the $200 range you are better to hold off untill you can spend around $300 on a quality Ruger LCP 380, & for thoose zombie guys you can get the Ruger LCP 380 Zombie Slayer model for a little more than the base LCP 380, & if money isn't an issue you can add a great Crimson Trace Laser to you Ruger LCP 380 that attaches in front of the trigger guard I have one on mine you can find the Laser for around $150. I also have a friend that has a Bersa Thander 380 that he was in love with untill he shot my Ruger, but I have put his Bersa through its paces and it is a solid 380 also & it does run over $300 normally also. Hope this helps you. Shoot Strait in life and on the range.

My life is worth more than a couple hundred bucks... and a cheap gun will fail, especially of fired enough to be proficient with it. And when talking caliber.... bigger really is better. When I'm riding my motorcycle I have 2 layers of leather plus at least 2 layers of clothing.... if it weren't for ruining my coat I try penetrating all that with a.380 just to prove it won't.

Depends on the load Mike. Because it's size makes it easy to hide my CC weapon is a Walther PPK in .380. Like you I don't wanna risk my life on inadequate fire power so I've done a lot of research on the ballistics testing. The really hot stuff, 11 to 1200 fps, can give you an expansion rate of .68" and a penetration depth of 9". I've forgetten the numbers on knock down power but they were equally impressive for such a small caliber. When you take in to consideration that the average gun battle takes place inside of 7' that's a lethal load. Speed kills and is a great equalizer for size and martial artist have been taking advantage of this forever. S&W used speed to compensate for size in the 9's when they introduced their models 39 and 59 back in the early 70's and started a whole new chapter in hand gun history.

Donny Graves , I'm loaded for bear with 185gr .45ACP at about 1100fps in a 1911 commander that conceals well with the right holster. Compare that to the .380 with half the bullet weight. Had a PP that was a fun gun to shoot, concealed well, but opted for a heavy hitter. But the Walther ain't the cheap guns noted in this article.

I use the Bersa Thunder Plus in .380. Decent caliber, and OK speed, expansion, and penetration with the right load, and 15 round mags. (No such thing as too many bullets....). Wife has gone in for Ruger LCP in .380.

You skipped revolvers. Normally I'm not a big fan of revolvers but I really like the ruger LCR 38+P but your stepping up to 400$ for that one. But, Taurus makes a smallish 38+P 5 shot revolver you can find by the dozens at gun shows usually for less then 250$.

I would also disagree with any poster who says the keltecs are not good CCW pieces. I'd place them higher then the newer ruger LCP and LC9 simply because they don't have magazine safeties you need to remove like the rugers do.

What are some thoughts on the Ruger LCR.380 W/built-in laser sight. I this an appropriate 1st gun for my mother, Whom has never shot before but wants the reliability and point and shoot of a laser sighted gun? Like if this is a good choice or comment please.

Personally I really like a semi auto with a hammer. I think a lot of people accidentally shoot themselves because they think the gun isn't cocked. And I like to have one in the chamber with safety off when I'm getting ready to shoot. Just pull back the hammer and it's time to empty the clip and let the shells fly. The accu tek appears to be the only one with a hammer.

I also agree a 38+P revolver with a crimson trace grip is a great choice for a woman. My wife carries a s&w 442 ultralite 38+p w/crimson trace and loves it. Not a hard trigger pull, and just point and shoot, and they can start practicing with regular 38 rounds, and move up to the +P bullets, which dont have alot more kick, but do have alot more stopping power, in my opinion........course you know what they say about opinions.......

My wife used to dislike guns. She liked having them in the house and respects our 2nd amendment rights. She had also fired every one of mine. Now she wants her permit and a carry piece. Her problem is she can't rack a slide. So, I'm looking at a snubbie .38 for her (with a hammer). Probably a Taurus Pink Lady or something like that. Women have more CC options than men do too so she has other options.

in my view,..the only two in that line up that I mite take a chance with would be....the Taurus and the Kel-tec,...I got stuck one time with buying a cheaper handgun... (Ill admit it LOL )..the problem with some of the cheaper guns is the Quality of the steel,...which where's out fast with such parts like....extractors..springs , and cheap " tinny " magazines..which long term causes...feeding problems!,...in my view,...if I am carrying a gun for self protection or to protect my family.....IT MUST WORK EVERY TIME...ALL THE TIME...IT MUST NOT FAIL! so I would have to agree with the statement of.....if I am on a budget ( which I am...who anit these days! )...and I have $ 200 bucks,...I think I would put a little more away to grad a better made Weapon!,...just a personal view and not meaning to insult anyone who has one of these guns ;).

I shot a few thousand rounds through a Cobra FS.380 and for $142.00 out the door I was pleased. Has a nice dove tail and never got caught in a pinch. It breaks down very easy with a few pins. My experience is around 400 rounds without cleaning it starts to get a little sticky. It makes for a nice little Day Pack gun or on the water.